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Policy Roundup – May & June 2025

July 14, 2025

Our policy and research blog updates you on the latest work at the Institute and how you can get involved.

Institute news

Welcome to the third bi-monthly Policy Roundup of 2025 from the Institute’s Technical Policy Manager, Caroline Harrison MICFor.

Special Interest Groups

Our Special Interest Groups continue to meet quarterly, including a new Special Interest Group on Green Finance. The groups are busy planning #MembersHour, webinars and in-person CPD events. Further details to follow but in the pipeline for the second half of this year are:

Nurseries SIG

#MembersHour: The Strong Roots Project – How Government can Better Support Domestic Production of Trees
In-person CPD event: Visit to Newton Nursery and Moray Estates

Environmental SIG

Ancient Woodlands Conference: Past, Present, and Future: Threats and Opportunities for an Irreplaceable Habitat
#MembersHour: Britain’s Temperate Rainforests – Definitions, Threats and Action

Harvesting and Marketing SIG

#MembersHour: Forest Integrate
#Members Hour: Harvesting Operations and Ecological Constraints

Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Steering Group

#MembersHour: Trees, Planning and Construction
#TreeSurgery: An informal monthly drop-in session for all members working in forestry, environment, arboriculture and urban forestry to get together to talk all things trees.

#MembersHour, webinars & workshops

We try to organise a good range of Members’ Hours, webinars and workshops, both in terms of geographic spread and subject matter, to ensure all sectors within our diverse membership are represented. Members Hours, webinars and workshops run in May and June were as follows:

8 May – Observatree: 12 Years of Tree Health Citizen Science (#MembersHour)
22 May – Urban Greening in Arid Environments: A Case Study of Riyadh (#MembersHour)
5 June – Innovative Technologies to Boost Woodland Carbon & Peatland Restoration Projects (#MembersHour)
9 June – Presentation Skills & Public Speaking Workshop
19 June – Forests with Impact – Transforming Lives and Landscapes (#MembersHour)
23 June – Innovations in Tree Production and the Implications for Practitioners (TPIF) webinar

Recordings of our #MembersHour sessions are available in the Members Area library.

Future events during 2025

We have a full calendar of regional and national events for the second half of the year. Check our Events Calendar for upcoming events.

Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research

Forestry is available exclusively online and is free to all members of the Institute – click here to access the Forestry archive at Oxford University Press.

Public sector engagement

We continue to build upon the strong relationship the Institute has with DAERA, Defra, Forestry England, Forest Research, Forestry Commission, Forestry and Land Scotland, Natural Resources Wales, and Scottish Forestry. Please feel free to contact us if there is anything you would like us to address on your behalf.

Consultations & political advocacy

Responding to public consultations is an important way to influence policy. We consult with members as much as possible and often work in partnership with other organisations to strengthen our messages. We also produce papers on specific topics where it is important to publish our position here. The Institute has not responded to any consultations since the last policy update but is due to respond to the following consultation and would encourage members to submit their own responses:

Expanding the Role of the Private Sector in Nature Recovery – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Deadline: 7 August 2025

This call for evidence will support the further development of policies to increase private sector investment in protecting and improving nature. Defra is looking to hear from businesses, investors, and innovators on how we can, together, protect the natural foundations of our economy and secure sustained and resilient growth nationwide. Please read the consultation document and submit your comments to caroline.harrison@charteredforesters.org or if you would like to share your views directly, please send written submissions to Nature.Investment.CfE@defra.gov.uk.

Developments

Institute signs letter urging for VAT removal on sunscreen for outdoor workers

The Institute, alongside a coalition of leading horticulture and landscape industry organisations, has signed a joint letter to the UK Government, calling for the removal of VAT on SPF 30+ sunscreen. The letter follows a revealing survey by the Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIH) and Plant Network, highlighting the alarming rates of skin cancer in the sector and the economic barriers to adequate sun protection. Read more.

Healthy trees need healthy people

The Institute, alongside organisations from across the forestry sector have come together to tackle the growing issues surrounding mental health in forestry. The forestry sector has a duty of care to our people to keep them healthy, happy and safe. As our physical safety record in forestry operations continues to get better and better, it’s high time we took urgent action to address the important issues relating to mental health in our industry. We are working together to help identify the mental health issues facing our sector and provide useful tools to help prevent and alleviate problems. Read more.

Representation

Our representatives sit on groups, panels, and committees across the sector, actively participating, feeding back developments, and advising us on actions to take. The role of an Institute Representative is a crucial touch point between Institute staff, Council, and members. The Institute is represented on 17 enduring groups, committees, and advisory boards, over nine high-level standing groups where staff members represent the Institute, and a constantly evolving number of targeted, time-bound working groups, research teams, and review panels.

If members would like clarification or suggest other groups the Institute should be represented on, or advise on our overall approach, please contact caroline.harrison@charteredforesters.org.